Friday, 7 December 2007

Jason Robinson’s Farewell Game - Barbarian's vs South Africa

Jason Robinson made his rugby farewell at Twickenham for the Barbarians verses South Africa match on Saturday 1st December.

The match, which kicked off at 3:00pm, saw The Barbarians beat world-cup holders South Africa 22-5 and showed Robinson playing rugby at his best, despite having dislocating his shoulder in England’s World Cup final six weeks ago.

The 33 year-old, who earned 51 caps for England during his 16-year career which spanned both rugby union and rugby league, was met with a standing ovation by 58,000 fans when he left the pitch with 12 minutes left of the game.

The Barbarians started the stronger of the two teams with Matt Giteau scoring the first of the Barbarians three tries in the opening minutes.Despite Barend Pieterse diving over a ruck to score a try for South Africa towards the end of the first half, when heavy rain took its toll on the second half, it was clear that The Barbarians were determined to beat the world champions.

The South African loss didn’t dampen the spirits of all those who came to see the champions first match at Twickenham since winning in Paris, in what was a fitting farewell to an English legend.